Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) said heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie on Wednesday night had left people stuck on top of their homes in the outlying suburb of Eton, but after checks on Thursday morning, all had been confirmed safe.

Aerial rescues were also conducted on Thursday morning, with 14 people from north Eton flown to an evacuation centre in West Mackay.

Tanya Ruffell, who was rescued with her family this morning, said while they had lost their home and cars they were glad to be safe.

News that all was well had been slow to filter out, as the flooded area had no phone or internet access.

"I've got Bowen cut off on both sides, I've got Proserpine cut off on both sides, and I've got Airlie Beach cut off on both sides so it makes access difficult ... we need to get generators in," he said.

"We're going to call on the military to help us bring some gen-sets [generators] in so we can get essential services up and running."

Mackay saw a significant amount of rainfall and activity in the area on Wednesday night with the SES reporting a sudden increase in calls for help to emergency services.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten landed in north Queensland and were touring the cyclone-ravaged town of Bowen on Thursday morning, as the full extent of the damage continued to emerge.

Mr Turnbull said the largest pre-deployment of defence personnel for a natural disaster in Australia's history was underway.

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Turnbull would get some perspective about the challenges ahead after visiting the region.

"I think when he sees it first hand, he'll understand the extent of the damage and the fact that we need to get some necessary supplies into places like Proserpine that have been cut off," Ms Palaszczuk said.

She said contingency plans were in place, including extra swiftwater rescue reinforcements from interstate.